1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a garment holding device according to the preamble of claim 1.
2. Description of Related Art
Such devices are known, and serve to store and/or transport garments, such as suits and dresses or gowns. Their advantage is that they enable compact storage and transport and convenient handling of the garments.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,026 issued Mar. 20, 1995 discloses a garment holding device for use with various types of luggage comprising a substantially cylindrical hollow tube about which suits and other garments can be completely wrapped, a fabric cover for holding garments securely about the outer surface of the tube, and a flexible hanger which is capable of holding suits and other garments against the outside of the tube while being flexible enough to conform to the curvature of the tube. A fabric cover wraps around the garments and the tube and holds the garments securely against the outer surface of the tube. Because the garments will be rolled instead of folded over 180 degrees, wrinkling of the garments will be reduced. The hollow center of the cylinder is utilized to carry bulky and awkward shaped objects such as shoes. The way the suits and garments are wrapped around the outside of a cylinder allows the luggage to be compact and easy to carry. Additionally, the garments no longer have to be folded and incur wrinkling, but can be gently wrapped around the outside of the cylinder. This product is available on the market under the tradename Skyroller®.
Although the known device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,026 is an improvement over traditional garment holders that require a suit and other clothes to be folded into two halves or more parts, which almost certainly results in wrinkling of the respective piece of garment and is not compact, the known device still suffers from the disadvantage that it causes wrinkling of the suit or other garment transported and/or stored. Therefore it is a goal of the present invention to provide an improved garment holding device, in particular a garment holding device that prevents wrinkling, while maintaining the compactness of the known device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,026.